Just Like Mom
by SignedSealedWritten
Summary: Fifteen years after the Flock saves the world, Minnie's mother is dead, and she lives with her Dad. That is, until the day she goes to the movie theatre.... rated t for safety and REALLY MILD language. Title to change, suggest some if you want. Review!
1. Oh My God

a/n: Yeah, I know that I haven't updated in a long time, and I'm really sorry. Going to restart this, kind of took a break for awhile, but I really do think that you will enjoy this story.

You'll pick it up after a minute or two.

Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride, but I do own my made ups.

Minnie's POV

"Please Minnie, get your feet off the table." Dad said to me, his thumb lazily flipping through channels.

I scrunched my dark eyebrows together. "Dad, you've got _your_ feet on the table." T was true: both feet were on the coffee table.

"When you're the Dad…"

"I'll never _be_ the Dad."

"Exacty."

I crossed my arms over my chest and stuck out my tongue. Dad gave me one of those 'I'm gonna get you in your sleep' looks.

"Don't try." I replied casually, putting my feet back up on the table. "I'll set Uncle Iggy on you."

"Oh yea?" He said. "Doubt it. Iggs isn't going against me."

I grinned. "Don't be so sure, dad. We've kind of formed an alliance ever since Tony and I started going out."

"Meaning to ask: how's that whole dating your cousin thing going?"

"I am not! He's not my cousin! Well, not really." I tapped my chin with my finger, thinking. "More like, best friends or something like –"

He stopped me. "I'm kidding." He flashed me one of those rare grins. "You've been spending too much time with Aunt Nudge."

I sighed, relieved. Sometimes I wish that Mom was still around to help me deal with all of this guy and teenage stuff, but Mom died when I was just a baby, right after I was born. I don't remember her, but many of YOU might. Maximum Ride. My mom saved the world. Remember those six daring kids? Well, lets catch you up to speed.

Fang. My dad. Silent and new to all of this 'talking with daughter' stuff. He's twenty nine.

Iggy. Tony's and Cassie's Dad. Chef at a local restaurant/café thing. Still blind. Taller. He's twenty nine too.

Nudge. Tony's and Cassie's Mom. Non stop talker, and owns the restaurant/café that Iggy cooks at. She's twenty seven and one of my favorite people in the world. She kind of became my mother when Mom died.

The Gasman. Seriously, if he pulls one more prank on me… owns a joke shop, so my b-day gifts are always interesting. Twenty four.

Angel. My mom's death affected her the most, since my mom was kind of like her mom in a way. Angel grew up a lot in that time, and it was only recently when she didn't look at me with regret. She lives with her brother and Total at twenty two. And don't let her know that I told you this, but she still has Celeste.

Total. Obviously not normal. I mean, come on, he talks! We don't really know how old he is, but we think he's around twenty.

Grandma and Grandpa. I don't see Grandpa much, but I see Grandma and my Aunt Ella every week. We live in that town in Arizona where they do.

So theres my life in a nutshell.

I've never gone to a real school. Neither have Tony and Cassie, who are twins. They're thirteen years old. I guess our parents just don't believe in school. So thank God for the internet.

Okay, just to set the record straight, my name isn't Minnie. It's actually Nikki, but I should seriously just change it permanently. Everyone says I'm a 'mini' version of my mom: blonde streaked brunette hair, her sarcastic attitude and warm brown eyes. I only know from pictures and stories. But my wings, oh boy, they're really awesome. I'm fifteen years old and they're already fourteen feet across. They're dark, like Dad's, with cream tips like my Moms.

I love flying. The sensation is pure amazing, the feeling of wind and air, oh, nothing but clean pure air.

"You going to the movies tonight?"

"Yep." I said happily. "Tony and I are going to see No Reservations with Cassie and her new boyfriend."

"Who's that?"

"I don't know – some odd name or something."

"Just be careful." Dad said when he heard Nudge's car beep outside. Nudge was going to drive us to the theatre.

"Will do." I said as a hopped out the door.

I opened the back of Nudge's yellow sports car – business was booming- and found Tony and Cassie waiting for me in the back.

"Hey guys." I said, sliding in. "Where's new guy?"

A chorus of 'hey minnie's' filled the air for a second, and then Cassie turned light blue eyes on me. They worked, unlike her fathers. "Avery is meeting us there." She said.

"Cool."

"Hey, Minnie Mouse." Tony said.

"Heya, Tony the Tiger." I joked. He roared. This was our usual greeting, even before we were dating. We've known each other since forever, basically.

Tony was cute. Same red hair as his dad's, Nudge's brown eyes and tan skin. Cassie had it opposite: her mom's unruly brown hair, and her Dad's blue eyes. Both had rusty brown wings, although Tony's had tawny brown peppered all over them.

Before long, the three of us were saying goodbye to Nudge and buying tickets at the theatre.

"Avery!" Cassie said happily, giving a boy walking in a hug. She was _so_ her mom, even if she would never admit it. She pulled back, and Avery held out his hand to me.

"Yo."

_**Oh my God.**_

a/n: Okay, my hand hurts now from typing so much.


	2. Parent Trap Esque

a/n: Alright, here we go…

**a/n: Alright, here we go…. Another chapter! You'll find out what the oh my god was all about, but lets not give too much away just yet, shall we?**

**Minnie's POV**

"Dude, we match!"

Match we did. No, not the clothes, just, oh, I don't know… everything else, just about?

His hair was blonde, but darker than mine, his eyes a warm brown color. Even his features, the way he was built, his cheekbones, and his mouth, the shape of his _face_ was the same.

No way. This was _way_ too Parent Trap-esque. Look-a-like Minnie, in a boy form? Oh jeez.

Cassie and Tony were trying not to laugh, and I shot them a look that said 'shut up'.

"Where did you find him, Cassie?" I asked.

"In a Happy Meal." He answered calmly.

I rolled my eyes. "CASSIE, where did you find him?"

"Flying? Oh my god, this is freaky! Like, TWitches or Parent Trap."

"Flying?!" I managed to keep my voice down. "You mean…"

"Well, yeah." Avery said, and I noticed for the first time that he was wearing a wind breaker over his black Simon Cowell type t-shirt.

"Do we know your Mom or Dad?"

"Why would you?"

"Because there are just SO many flying humans around, and there is no way that we could know them all." I gave him my infamous 'are you stupid?' look.

"Dude, you sound like my mom."

I tried not to laugh. He had an odd mom. "This is _so_ odd."

"Hadn't noticed."

"Now you sound like my…" Oh my god. I thought for the second time in one day. Something had clicked in my brain right about then, and this was suddenly a lot more Parent Trap – esque than it had been before.

I put a hand to my temple, starting to get tunnel vision.

And then, everything went black.

**a/n: Hey, let me know what you thought about it… think you know whats going on? I bet you do…. **

**Well, hey, I want to ask you guys something… which of my stories if your favorite that I write? **

**Just wondering.**

**Love,**

**SignedSealedWritten**


	3. Lindsey Lohan With Wings

A/N: Well, welcome to another chapter of Just Like Mom

**A/N: Well, welcome to another chapter of Just Like Mom.**

**I want to know, I want to make a commercial, who should be an older version of each of the Flock, and Minnie/Cassie/Tony/Avery?**

**Dedicated: To the two 'physic' reviewers that I had, both the one who was totally correct, and the one who got it half right!**

**You know the disclaimer.**

**Max's POV**

A crowd of people surrounded me, the odd, fainting girl. Avery was crouched next to me, as was Tony. Cassie was trying to shoo away the pressing crowd.

"Ugh." I said. "What just happened?"

"You went kerplunk." Tony said.

Avery was pale. Had he just realized it too? Could is even possibly be? Mom was dead! Everyone knew that!

"Okay." Avery said, sounding calm. "You go first."

"Mom died when I was bron." I said. "And I've lived with my Dad my whole life."

"Dad disappeared." Avery said. "Live with my mom."

"Oh my God." Cassie whispered, finally realizing it too.

"Your dad?"

"Fang." His face went pale. "Your mom?"

"One and Only Maximum Ride."

"Jeez." Tony said, with his usual state the obvious manner.

I felt woozy, but managed not to make a spectacle of myself for the second time in one day.

"Oh my God." I said softly. "You're my brother."

"No, Nikki." He said, using my real name. "We're twins."

Add british accents and Lindsey Lohan with wings, and you've got The Parent Trap: Bird Kids in a nutshell.


	4. In for It

a/n: Well, this will be a fast update, so I guess I wont get as many reviews…

**a/n: Well, this will be a fast update, so I guess I wont get as many reviews….**

**Sorry for the oddness of the repeat first line of the last chapter and the word bron instead of born . . . yeah.**

**Max's POV**

Needless to say, we never _did_ see No Reservations that day.

"Call your mom." I said to Avery. "Tell her to pick you up after the movie." My arms were crossed angrily over my chest.

"I've got a better idea." Tony said. "Follow me." Avery's ideas usually involved explosions, so we were hesitant to follow, but we did.

Once we were in a secluded area, Tony said, "Call your mom. But make sure he thinks its an emergency." Quickly, he turned to me. "And you. Call your dad. Same deal."

"Aww, that's not nice." Cassie said.

"_I_ grew up without a mom and Avery grew up with out a Dad. That's the 'not nice' factor here."

"Same time." Tony said when Avery started dialing.

Quickly, I pulled out my cell phone and dialed.

"Yo."

"Dad! Dad, please!"

"Min? What's wrong?"

I made a grunting sound and Tony slammed a book on the table. Avery was talking to _his_ mom - _my mom!- _now too.

"What's wrong?"

"Erasers!" I said, gasping for breath. "Everywhere!" I clicked the phone shut.

Looking to Avery, I said, "Oh, we're going to be in so much trouble. Knowing my dad…"

"And knowing my mom…"

"We're in for it…"

But jeez, was it worth it.


	5. Avecay?

A/N: Thank you guys for the reviews

**A/N: Thank you guys for the reviews! That makes me feel really special, just thought that you would like to know. Well, I still want to know who should play the older flock in the trailer that I am making, and also who should play Cassie/Tony/Avery/Minnie.**

**That****'****s**** all really. On with the story.**

**Disclaimer: I don****'****t own Maximum Ride, sorry!**

**Oh, and I****'****m sorry for the thing where I kept putting Max****'****s POV, it wasn****'****t**** Max****'****s, it was Minnie****'****s.**

**MINNIE****'****S POV**

Overhead, I could begin to make out the dark shape of Dad's wings. He was going _very_ fast. I cringed, knowing he could see me, standing there, not in danger at all. Well, not yet, but I was sure that when Dad landed, I would have gladly taken on the fake Erasers we had planned.

He banked sharply out of the sky, dropping and landing by my side, his jaw set.

He grabbed my wrist, looking me in the eyes angrily. "Don't you _ever_ do that again, do you hear me Nikki? I swear -"

"Dad."

Avery had stepped out of the shadows, and I saw color drain from Dad's face.

"Why, Dad?" I said, twisting out of his grasp. "Why? She's alive! He, my brother, my twin brother, is alive, and I never even knew he _existed!_How? Why? You made me live without them!" I was close to tears.

"We couldn't…"

"The whole Flock knew, didn't they? You hate me Dad, don't you! You don't even care how I would feel about this! I hate you, Dad!"

He took me by the shoulders and shook me. "Don't you _ever_ say that to me."

"Let go of her, Fang."

Immediately, he stepped back, as if the president of the USA had ordered him to do so. I rolled my shoulders.

Before me, stood Maximum Ride.

She looked like me. Well, I looked like her, I guess you could say. Except, her hair was short, and mine was long. She was taller, and her wings were a light brown as apposed to my dark ones.

"Mom?" I squeaked, and then I was running towards her, in that way you see in romance movies in the field of flowers, all la-de-da, not a care in the world.

For a moment at least.

She wrapped me in a huge hug, and I was horrified to be sobbing. She rubbed my back gently.

"Sweetheart," she whispered. "If only I could have seen you grow up."

Now, how long did the la-de-da moment last, folks? Hold on, let me check my stopwatch – exactly twenty seconds.

Angry again, I shoved her away. "You could have! All these years, I cried at night because _I _ thought _you_ were dead. And Avery! I never knew about him!" Avery was standing besides me now, and Tony and Cassie flanked me. Fang stood beside my mom. I was too mad to think of him as Dad now.

They looked at each other, something passed between them, which only succeeding in majorly p-oing me.

"Should we, then?" F-Dad asked.

"Not here. Either separate or somewhere else."

"You are NOT separating us again." Avery said.

Go Avery! I crossed my arms over my chest, mad beyond belief. I haven't been this mad since – heck, I've _never_ been this mad!

Mom put up her hand. "It's more dangerous with the two of you together."

"Why, huh? The evil people going to get us?" I said sarcastically. "In case you haven't noticed, _mom_, there ARE no evil people anymore." Mom started to open her mouth, but Dad said,

"Max, not here. Two of them, gone. We'll go to the avecay."

Avecay?


	6. Dreams

a/n: Sorry that it is taking me so long to write this, or type it… I've been writing my Twilight story… anyway, yes, that is my fan fiction trailer on youtube for this fan fiction

**a/n: Sorry that it is taking me so long to write this, or type it… I've been writing my Twilight story… anyway, yes, that **_**is**_** my fan fiction trailer on youtube for this fan fiction.**

**Alright, lets begin my friends…. Or enemies, whichever way you swing.**

"Good." Dad said, then opened his wings and jumped into the air. We were far enough into the woods now so nobody would see. Up above, Dad hovered.

"Tony, Cassie, you'll be going to udgenay."

"Udgenay?"

They ignored me.

"But we want to stay!" They said in unison.

"Absolutely not. Your mother would have my head." Mom said in a no nonsense voice. "We'll bring you there. Let… let your mom know… I'm alright."

"Of course, Aunt Max." Cassie said. "She'll be really, really, really glad to know that you're alright, she'll be jumping up and down and…"

"Cassie, eardrums." I said, and Mom flashed me a look as we flew.

"What?"

She just smiled and shook her head.

Oh my. I'm flying with my mother _and_ father. This wasn't possible. Only in dreams. Sometimes, those dreams had turned into nightmares.

Avery flew next to me, almost silently. I flashed him a grin, and he smiled too. Our wings were gliding in time, without effort, smoothly. I loved this, this _feeling_, the feeling of flying.

"Mom? Do they _really_ have to go? Cassie and Tony?" It would be like losing both my arms.

She flew above me. "I know how you feel, baby. But keeping them with us isn't going to do any good."

I made a 'hmph' noise. "Who's Udgenay?"

"Later. You'll get it soon."

Did she get how seriously _annoying_ that was? Probably.

"Cass, Tony, we'll see you guys later." Both of them dropped out o the sky and landed… get this… in their backyard.

"You're wrong. Still don't get it."

"Yep, Max. Just like you." Dad sad.

"And Avery is just like you." She looked at Dad with this _look_ in her eyes, so warm and loving and careful, like walking on glass. Like, cue the music.

Scratch that. Cue me _puking_.

Both of them hovered, Mom below Dad, facing him and horizontal. And then they started to _kiss._ For a really, really, long time.

"Please! Ew! Oh, God, I could _throw up_!" I said, shielding my face. Avery made a gagging noise.

They were still kissing.

"Guys, forget to breathe?" I asked.

Finally, they broke apart, grinning, both of them. I'd never, ever, seen my father smile that way.

We flew for a long time and Avery and I got pretty tired, but that was okay. I didn't care where we were going, I just wanted to know _why._

After about six hours, we came to a small cave, and we all landed under mom's silent directions.

Dust flew up everywhere. It was high, so, so high up on a cliff, and we all stretched our wings, letting them cool off. Relaxing. All of us.

But not for long.

"Can we know now?" I said.

Mom looked at Dad, and he nodded. Just one short nod.

"This cave is protected, the rock is a thick barrier, so it should be alright."

"Why do we need protection?" I asked.

Obviously, ignoring Minnie is a game they all like to play.

"Okay. This is how it happened…"

**a/n: Sorry about the annoying cliffie there, but it just **_**had**_** to end there, for obvious reasons of annoying you guys… nah, I'm kidding. **


	7. Buzz

a/n: Okay, so that was something that I never expected in a million years: two flames

**a/n: Okay, so that was something that I never expected in a million years: two flames. Kinda sorta.**

**Okay, so, you don't like the random kissing… -looks to max and fang and shrugs- It was there idea… I told them no, and they just would not take no for an answer…**

**Okay, that was a little creepy…. But guess what? This chapter explains EVERYTHING. So, yea….**

**Looking for a beta reader, by the way….**

**Oh, and awhile back, someone said Avery sounded adorable… if that person would like to find an actor to portay him for me, please do so….. and thanks. It makes me feel special. Is that creepy?**

**There should be a club, the Avery Fan Girls club. Let me know if you want to join.**

**Nah, just joking… but I'm sure Avery wouldn't mind fangirls… or tony, either….**

Mom flexed her fingers.

"You… the two of you… kind of came as a surprise."

"Good kind or bad kind?" I said, being as steel trapped as I always was.

Mom smiled. "Good. Definitely good. More of a 'there's two of you?' kind of thing." Avery laughed.

"And, well, it was a good few months…"

"But…"

"But then _they_ started to follow us." Dad said.

"They?" Asked Avery.

"Itex? Isn't' Itex dead?"

"You'd think." Dad said simply.

"It was… pretty bad." Mom said. "For two months, no matter where you turned, something was always there. GoBot, Flyboy, Erasers, new horrors… Always there."

"Why? How'd they find you? Your chip was gone."

"Angel figured it out."

"You see… the two of you…" She trailed off. "Let me show you." Mom took one of each of our hands and pushed them together. There was an odd, buzzing sound and a tingling feeling.

"Whoa." Avery said. "What is that?"

"Your own personal, non removable, chip." Mom said angrily, disgusted. "_They_ – the School… built me so that if I ever had kids, they would know. But, like with most of their half-ass plans, they failed."

"Doesn't look like they failed."

"The signal is way to weak… but with two of you…"

"They'll find us anywhere."

"So, you see, we _had_ to separate you… for your own good. Angel said it was the only way. I don't think she's ever really forgiven me for leaving her. And, you see, they wanted you. Both of you… so we figured if we separated you, you wouldn't be worth anything to them – and we were right. They haven't bothered us since."

"Why?" Avery asked. "Why isn't one of us worth the same as both are?"

"We don't know. And frankly, we _don't _care. We just want the two of you safe." Dad said.

"Wait – if we're trackable when we're together…"

"I'm guessing we have about an hour." Mom said. "Because we got far away, it will take them longer. But they'll still be here, trust me on that."

"So it looks like the four of us have a choice to make." Dad said. "Either was stay safe – separate- or we stay together."

"We would be on the run constantly – never in the same place."

"Like we we're." Dad said, meaning him and the Flock.

"We can't separate again!" I said, upset.

"Avery?" Dad asked.

"I … we've got to stick together."

"It'll be hard." Mom said. "Are you sure that you're ready for something like this? Being on the run?"

"No." I said. "I'm not going to be just _on the run_. On the run for what? The rest of my lfie? Why do they have to decide my fate?" I thought I saw a proud smile on mom's face, but I was most likely imagining it. I picked up a stone and threw it against the wall. "I'm not going to run from them anymore! They made me live my life without my family!"

"I… please, don't make us run." I continued. "Let us fight." I could see Avery nodding his head.

"Nikki, Avery, its not that simple. You could get hurt, killed. And I can't have that." Mom said.

"I don't care if its impossible! If I'm _really_ your daughter, then you'll know that I can fight without killing myself!"

"You've never met these horrors."

"No, but you have! And so has Dad! And you can train us! We're not weak, we're not helpless! Why can't you understand that!"

"Minnie…" Dad said.

"Mom, Dad, please, I can't just sit here. They'll do it again, hurt more people. You'd never let that happen, Mom."

"No, she wouldn't." Avery said quietly, looking at Mom with a cold, hard glare, that made me proud to have him as my brother – and also made me make a mental note to _never_ get on his bad side.

"Max, she's your daughter." Dad said. "And she isn't going to sit here and let this happen to her. There's no point."

Mom put her head against her hands. "I know." She whispered. "I just…" she raised her head. "It was a hard life for us. I wanted them to just be… normal."

"Max, they'll be fine. We'll be fine." He put his hand on Mom's shoulder, and I realized how hard it must have been for them to split up.

"And besides," I said, grinning as I realized that this was starting to go my way. "We've got _wings._ We weren't normal from the get go."

**a/n: So, what do you guys think? Like it? Was it better or worse than the last chapter? The next chapter is already written, its kind of funny… lets just say, training against dad, dad vs. Minnie, and Minnie learns that she isn't so **_**invincible**_** as she thinks… especially against the all mighty F-Dad.**


	8. Uncle Figgy

a/n: I know, I know

**a/n: I know, I know! Long time no type … I am sorry! I was utterly obsessed with my new story called Animal Crackers, it's a Twilight story, go read it… eighty seven reviews so far!!**

**Okay, here we go anyway…. **

**Minnie's POV**

"Okay Nikki …"

"Minnie."

Mom smiled. "Minnie. Stand directly in front of your dad." I did as she said. We had left the cave and were in Wyoming, in a field. Avery sat on the outside, watching silently.

"Shouldn't we be flying?"

"You're learning on the ground first."

Mom was teaching us to fight. It was cool, watching her face light up as she redid moves that she'd learned so long ago. She was the Mom that I had always imagined.

No, not traditional. But really, who can be bothered with traditional things these days anyway?

"Right hook." Mom said as Dad's fist came flying at me.

"You want me to _hit_ Dad?" I asked, backing up.

"I want you to _try_." Mom said. I could hear the smile in her voice.

Dad restarted, his fists coming at me, long dark hair flying. I tried to right hook, and his hand had caught mine before I was even anywhere near him.

"You see," Mom said. "Fnick here is a very good fighter. In fact, he's probably better than the horrors you'll meet, so you beat him and you'll beat the Erasers."

"Fnick?" Avery said, and Dad laughed.

"Ask your Uncle Figgy." He said, and Mom laughed this time too.

We did that for a long time: the fighting, laughing, and story telling. And even though we were constantly looking over our shoulder, No Erasers showed up.

Which was good, since I never did beat dad.

**a/n: I know, short chapter, but the next one should be up soon …**


	9. Faint

a/n: Okay, so this is the next chapter

**a/n: Okay, so this is the next chapter! Woot!**

**Angel's POV**

I was sitting in Nudge's kitchen, eating a cheese sandwich. Which makes me sound like I'm six. But I'm not. I'm twenty.

Max left a long time ago, which her son Avery. Don't worry. I already know that its my fault. I said it was the only way because I was scared. And well…. Jealous. My mom had _real_ kids now. Her _own_ kids.

Of course I didn't really want her to leave. I wanted her to say: "No, baby, I'm staying with you."

But no. Max left with her son. And yea, I get it now. The twins couldn't fend for themselves then. And in way, she was protecting _all_ of us, from fighting.

But when Cassie and Tony landed in the backyard and then burst in through the kitchen door, I knew _something_ was up.

"Mom!"

"What? What's wrong? Where's Minnie?" Nudge said.

"Momtheremyboyandweandphoneand"

"Yea, Nudge. That _is_ what you sound like." I said, laughing.

"Slow down and tell me whats wrong."

"Max is back! She's not dead!"

Boom.

No folks, that wasn't Gazzy walking through the door.

Embarrassing as it was, that was me. I kind of just… fainted.

Right out of my chair.

**a/n: Wow, really short chapter. But, once again, maybe next will be up in a few minutes? I'm hoping? Lol, at school and finally found the notebook with all of the chapters in it… **


	10. You're doing it again

a/n: And, it's the next chapter

**a/n: And, it's the next chapter!! You know, I do have a video for this on youtube… my name there is shemademedoit21**

**Hayden Panettiere I chose as Minnie… she wouldn't necessarily be my first choice for her, but oh well… it uses only people from Heroes. Cause I'm lazy.**

**Minnie's POV**

We were on the move again. We couldn't stay _anywhere_ for more than two hours. At least we know the basics of fighting on the ground now.

"Woah, what is that up ahead?" Mom asid.

"Max, there's nothing there."

"No, right there – Oh, God, please don't let that be Erasers, Flyboys, GoBots or any combination thereof."

"Max, there's _nothing _there." Dad stopped talking to look at me. "Minnie, quit it."

I shook my head vigorously, as if I was a dog shaking off water. "Sorry!"

"Yeah," Dad said. "She does that."

Mom looked at me oddly. "Did you just make me _hallucinate?_ Holly Erasers."

"Sorry! I can't really control it." I apologized. "It just happens when I'm daydreaming."

"That's awesome." Avery said. "I can just move things with my mind."

"Are you serious?"

"Yea."

"That's so cool!" I exclaimed. "Cassie can't do anything yet, but ony… Mom, you'll get a kick out of this … he can set tyings on fire."

Mom laughed. "For Iggy's son, that's really fitting. God, I missed them." I saw sadness

in her eyes.

"Once we kick some booty, we can all go back." I said, trying to convince myself. Mom tried to smile at me.

"Minnie, you're doing it again." Dad said.

"No, I'm not. It only happens when I daydream. Unless you're seeing me kick major butt, then its not …" I looked ahead. "Oh God. We're screwed. We're so, so screwed. We're gonna die." Up ahead, nearly seventy Erasers flew towards us.

"We're not gonna die, idiot."

"Language!" Mom said. "We're not gonna die. Just stick close. Avery, follow your father. Fang, if we get separated, twenty miles south of Nekerchu."

"Got it. Avery, behind me."

You know what? I'm not going to even _wonder_ what Nekerchu means.

**a/n: -applauds meself-**


	11. Hallucination

**Maximum Ride: Just Like Mom**

Author's Note: I think that a lot of you are mad at me. I haven't updated in almost a year, I believe. I'm truly sorry! I have no real excuse for this, only the promise that I will update from now on. If you are reading this, thanks for sticking around, even when I failed you guys. I hope that you enjoy this chapter of Maximum Ride: Just Like Mom. Also, if you would like, you could check out the trailer for this on YouTube. I'll link it on my profile, as soon as I get home from school. They've blocked YouTube here.

The first Eraser barreled into Mom with the force of a sixteen wheeler, and she went reeling backwards, head over heels over wings. My first instinct was to scream, but I repressed it, realizing that my mother hadn't been caught off of her guard at all, but was in fact using the head of the Eraser behind her as a launching pad to hit the one in front of her. She came out of the summersault that she'd purposefully put herself into. Both of the Erasers plummeted to the ground with a sickening crash.

"Minnie, follow my lead!" Mom shouted, and I immediately did as told. After seeing that little maneuver there, I trusted her completely in the arts of fighting. She dove out of the air, down down down, tucking in her wings and barreling. I did as she did, and immediately realized why she'd cut her hair short. Long hair was just ANNOYING while fighting.

It was like a rollercoaster, destination: Hell.

And the Erasers were in the car behind us.

Mom launched herself out of the dive mere seconds before becoming part of the Earth, and I followed, watching her like a hawk – no pun intended- ready to do anything that she did. The Erasers, however, were not that lucky, and at least thirty five of the furry little demons connected face first with the ground and lay still where they'd fallen. I hollered for our momentary victory as we soared back up to face the rest of the crowd.

We fought on, and I had to fight with whatever I could pull out of where the sun didn't shine – making up moves that worked as I went along. I was a natural at this. Through the cloud of Erasers, I could see where I got at least part of that from – after all of these years, Dad still fought like a pro, and my new found twin brother wasn't so bad either – perhaps fighting like a natural just ran in the family.

"Minnie!" It wasn't the voice of my mother, closer to me, but the voice of my father calling from further away. I knocked the wind out of one of the foul breathed things as if I'd done so a million times, while letting my ears drift to whatever he was saying. "Try!"

I didn't understand at first – wasn't I trying hard enough, AND making some headway? But then I realized just exactly what he'd meant to try –

He wanted me to make them hallucinate. All of them, at once. Something I'd never done before intentionally, and besides that, never on more than one person.

And so, in the midst of the only, and the biggest, battle that I would probably ever fight in my life, I tried to make a bunch of flying wolf men see things that weren't there.

**Author's Note: I'm sorry that it's short: I figured a slight update was better than no update, in any case, and I've got to swim at school next period. I hope you enjoyed nevertheless. **


	12. When It Hit Me

**Just Like Mom**

They had surrounded us now – these angry, humming, buzzing bodies that flew heavily and clumsily around my family. Their smell was horrific: a mixture something to the tune of wet dog and a creature that was not supposed to see the light of day.

Could I really be their only hope? A simple hallucination, that was all: make them see what wasn't really there. I'd done it before, but not intentionally. A simple hallucination and my family would be able to have another chance at being whole again. Make these oversized dogs quake in their boots. Make them wish that they had never been born, or created, or whatever the hell that they were.

Only, how? What could I make them see? And such a large number, too. Could I force such a large number of dogs with wings to see something? I'd never tried to force it on anyone before. It's always been accidental! I would fail them!

But … there was Mom, fighting two Erasers as if she'd never taken a break from doing so, as if she'd been doing this all of her life. And Dad, who I'd been so close to all of my life, was fighting three Erasers, to keep some off of my back, so I could concentrate.

Then there was Avery, my twin brother. Apart, we weren't enough to cause any trouble, to make a stir. Apart, we weren't strong enough. But together, we had overloaded their system. Maybe, even though together it would be more dangerous, together was the only way to take them down. For good this time, too. There would be no more rising from the dead for the School.

Avery caught my eye, nodded once, and plunged for the earth. They all followed him, breathing down his neck as he dove for the field beneath us. I understood. He was giving me the chance. Don't let them see the ground. Confuse them. A a dangerous game, for I couldn't let my brother see the same thing that I would force them too see.

Because if I did, he would crash and burn too.

I closed my eyes, blocked out the beating of Mom and Dad's wings, the brush of cool wind against my face, and the heat of sun on my neck and wings.

_There. I was a hulking, stinking, mass of fur and wings. Yes, that boy was ahead of me, barreling stupidly for the earth. I would catch him. Who was he to think that he was better than me?_

Yes, yes. Now, how could they not see the ground? Hmm…

_There was nothing there, purely air in front of me. The ground was so far away! We had plenty of time to catch him! _

A boom shook me from my daydreaming, followed by heavy silence, and then… nothing.

Blinking into the sun, I found Avery hovering next to me, unscathed. Only, he had no grin on his face, as I'd expected.

That was when it hit me.

Avery and I.

Alone in the sky.

No Erasers.

But no Mom or Dad, either.

**Author's Note: **

**In case you were wondering, the things that were in italics were what she was making the Erasers see. **

**As for the cliffhanger… sorry? **

**Review! It does make me update faster. Think of it this way: either way, you'll get an update, but one way, you'll get it A LOT quicker, because it will give me a lot more inspiration. **


	13. Scattered Hearts

Author's Note: I'm sorry for the wait between the chapters, and for the cliffhanger. That was mean of me – but you've got a chapter now! I hope that you enjoy it. Please review, it makes all the difference to me! You don't know just how much a simple review can make my day.

**Maximum Ride: Just Like Mom**

There was only silence in the air, silence and wind that wanted to be of the breath of summer. I could hardly feel the beating of my own wings, keeping me floating there in the sky. I was numb to everything else – it was just Avery and I alone in the sky, suspended there by our fear of the unknown.

He was the first to break the silence, and for that I was grateful. If not for him, I feared we would have hovered forever in the sky. Sunlight glinted off of his hair, causing it to turn a lighter shade of the blonde that seemed to run in our family – closer to the shade of my own long hair now, tangled around my face from flying.

"Nikki, look." His finger jabbed in the direction of the field below us, at what had seemed to me to be an empty field – nothing but the rolling green of the grass and the occasional tree that seemed to be reaching their arms towards us, the natural sky scrapers of the land.

Yeah, I guess I'm a bit more poetic than my mother.

I used my hawks vision to check out the lay of the land – and at first, everything seemed to be the same –just the grass and the trees, but then I saw movement – the grass seemed to be moving apart from the other strands. That was odd, but I'd seen stranger things in my fifteen years …

Oh. OH! That was the furthest thing from grass that I'd ever seen.

It was an SUV – a camouflaged SUV, one that even our hawk vision hadn't picked up at first. I could hear it now, too, that I knew it was there – and could see what moved in the back of the truck, a burlap sack that struggled and beat itself against the windows, which was something that most burlap sacks I knew didn't know how to do.

Mom and Dad.

Avery had the same idea, he'd already started to fold in his wings and dive bomb for the second time within mere minutes before I grabbed onto his shirt and stopped him, hissing into his ear. "Don't you realize that there are Erasers in that car? We need to come up with a plan!"

"Us coming up with a plan equals them getting killed! Besides, they'll know we're together! They'll get us too, and then what are we gonna do?! We just have to go for them, Nikki!"

And that's when I heard it. Something whizzing past my ear, like a humming bird except much louder and much more metallic.

"Scatter!" I shouted, as the second bullet went past, just missing me. "Meet back by that cave!"

I knew where they were taking them. We both did.

And as I soared back towards that cave, I knew one other thing.

This morning, I'd had a father.

Now, I had a brother.

And we were both parentless.


	14. And so I soared

Author's Note:

Ouch. What was I thinking when I agreed to go ice-skating? I fell. **Twice. **After finally giving up I'm now sitting outside watching my younger brother and father ice-skate. So I figured that I would write the next chapter. Please, review after you read! It makes my day absolutely. There was a trailer for this on YouTube, but it got the sound removed, unfortunately. I'll try to remake another. I'm mad. It had dialogue and everything.

**Maximum Ride: Just Like Mom**

We shot off in different directions, bullets almost grazing the feathers on the tips of my wings. Powerful strokes propelled me forward, shooting through the air as if I were a bullet myself. It was something that I'd always loved about flying, no matter the weather, the location, or if I were flying solo or with my flock. You feel every movement of the muscles, of just how powerful the muscles were, of how powerful, _you_ were. I don't think that I would be able to find words to explain how wind through your feathers feels.

I've never, ever, flown this fast. Shooting, moving, powerful. Simply amazing.

But this wasn't the time for that now.

The adrenaline that raced through my veins was something I could feel, a buzz that electrified every cell in my body.

Was this how our parents had felt, when they were our age?

Trees blowing by underneath me turned to mountains, and the sound of bullets faded to the memory of them, sharp and acrid in my mind's nostrils. I felt as if they might stay there forever.

Was there such a thing as mental bleach? I think that I needed it.

I curved through trees, following a course that would take me back to the cave. Once I met Avery there, how long would it be until we were caught up with again? An hour? Two? Three, God willing?

If we were going to take down the school, as my parents had, we were going to need reinforcements.

I missed Tony. It was like a tiny rip in my heart that only _he_ could sew back up. Did Avery miss Cassie? I missed her.

Absentmindedly, I wondered how close Avery and I had to be to have the tracking take effect. Surely, the further it was, the longer it would take them to find us, until, _bleep, _out of their system. How far would we have to be from each other for our tracker to be out of the system?

There were subtle changes in the landscape that told me I was getting closer – the way that the mountains seemed more familiar here, the way that the trees were shaped and the air smelled. I remembered it all from our trip here with Mom and Dad.

Mom and Dad. It was the reason that we were ending up here again; a reason so same and yet so different at exactly the same time.

The cave had entered my vision just moments before, growing larger as I shot towards it. It was a good thing, too, for I was growing tired. I'd never flown for this long before in my life, and I didn't really know how much longer I could hold out for.

I could see nothing in the cave, which both delighted and frightened me. Perhaps he'd taken good sense into mind and went to the back of the cave. That way, if anybody was to come near, anybody flying, at least, they wouldn't be able to see him at first. It frightened me because_ I _couldn't see him. What if he hadn't made it to the cave?

No, I wouldn't think like that.

I took a deep breath before landing in the dark opening of the cave. There was nothing that smelled remotely like Erasers here, but I could smell something else.

_Feathers_. Feathers that were so much like my own. The feathers of my brother. Was it possible that in the hours we'd been together, I'd already committed them to memory?

I came to a sort of … crash landing in the opening of the cave. I'd never been good with the landings, after all. Rocks and pebbles and dust spewed around me, stinging my face and coating my tongue and breath.

I could hear movement in the back of the cave. It set my heart thumping at an irregular pattern, even if I knew that it was just my brother. My brother. How odd it was still to say those words, even in my own mind.

_My brother, my brother, my brother_.

My **twin**_**.**_

"Minnie?" He called out my name as if he knew it was me, but if he were unsure that I would know it was him. It was an odd line to walk on.

"Yeah, who else?" I called out, laughing for a second despite myself, and then we were both hugging, and I was trying not to cry, and I could tell that he was trying not to cry as well.

We had to find them. We had to destroy the school.

But I didn't know how long it would take for the opposite way to happen. How long it would take for the school to find us. How long it would take for the school to _destroy_ us.


	15. Needing Help But Never Helpless

**Just Like Mom**

**Author's Note:**

I'm sorry that there's been a delay in me updating – I've been working on a Twilight fan fiction of mine, called Animal Crackers. If you have the chance, go check it out. Now… someone made an interesting suggestion before. I'm not going to say what the suggestion was, I'm just going to tell you that SOMETHING like that is going to happen. You'll see. In fact, you'll see in this chapter.

Who else CANNOT WAIT for March 16th- because, my friends, that is the day that the fifth book of the Maximum Ride series comes out.

Anyway, on with the chapter. My cat, whose name is Max, says hi. No, I'm not kidding. He's staring at the computer like he would like to say hello. So I'm giving him the chance.

-SignedSealedWritten and her cat Max

**Minnie's Point-of-View**

"Sit on the opposite end of the cave." He said, shortly after we let go of each other. Already, it was an unspoken rule – don't sit too close, or the tracking system might be even easier to find us by. It was a horrid rule, but we had to go by it. It was either that, or death.

And death, well, it really didn't sound like the best idea to find out parents by.

So, he sat down leaning against one cave wall, and I sat down on the wall that faced him. We were, technically, as far as possible from each other in the cage – and it was still one of the only moments I'd been that close to my brother.

That, my friends, is called s-a-d.

_Sad_.

I sat down, curling my legs against my chest, and wrapping my arms around them. Both of us were letting our wings cool out from the fast paced flight, I could see steam rising from Avery's dark –lighter than mine, more towards the color of our mother's- wings. I rested my chin against my knees and saw him mirror my pose. I couldn't help but smile despite myself.

_We're so much alike_. You know, besides the fact that we both have wings and all. That's just something that runs in the family.

Anybody could tell that we were twins. I mean, we definitely looked alike, and now that I was listening, I could hear that we even sounded alike. Both of us were strong willed and determined. Neither of us could give up on a simple whim. We had been raised apart, so we'd never know what it would have been like if we had been living together all of our lives.

But I don't think that we would have been the siblings that hated each others guts, I mean, _really_ hated each others guts. I think we would have fought over stupid things that neither of us would have backed down on. And I know that we would have always had each others backs.

And I also knew that I really, really, wished that we had been able to have that. The feeling of wanting to have that past shook through me with a violent force.

I would have that. I would have the whole family thing. We just had to figure out a way to get through this first. We were two kids who needed their parents back.

But we weren't helpless. That was something that we would never be.

"We need a plan." I said, not bothering to lift my head from my knees.

"I know." He muttered back. Suddenly, we both just looked _so_ exhausted. I don't know if we looked or felt worse, but I definitely think that it was the second part of that statement.

"Where do we go from here?" I asked, letting my eyes roam on the ceiling. "They're bound to find us again eventually."

"We need to get Mom and Dad back."

I hissed out my breath, rolling my eyes. "Really now?" Okay, so maybe we wouldn't have _always_ gotten along. But give us a break, it was the first day we'd ever actually _met_, and I'd say we were doing pretty good under a really high pressure situation. I'd like to see you handle it with your brother.

"We can't do it alone." He was quiet, like Dad.

"But we _are_ alone." I said, through grit teeth. "We've got nobody but ourselves."

He shook his head. "That's not true."

"Do you see anybody else in this cave?" There was going to be more to that sentence, but some not so nice names were involved there, so I kept them to myself.

"They're not in the cave." He said, starting to get exasperated.

It was then that it hit me. "We have to get Tony and Cassie."


	16. Alone?

Author's Note: I'm so sorry for the lack of updates. I've been having a hectic life lately – prep for SAT's and stuff like that. Don't worry, I'll keep updating. I've got quite a few chapters here, and I plan to update a few times, as soon as I can. Also, don't worry; this is a NO SPOILER zone. I've got the new Maximum Ride, and am somewhat a quarter or so through it. No spoilers in the reviews please and there will be no spoilers here. It's as simple as that. On that note, this is going to be a somewhat short chapter. I don't have much time, but the next chapter is really long, so stay tuned. xD

Just Like Mom

"We need a plan, and we need one _now_." I confirmed, sliding down against the cave wall, letting my warm dark wings cool off. I could feel the steam rise from them. "We _can't _let them keep Mom and Dad."

"Yeah." Avery said. He was sitting against the opposite cave wall, as far from me as he could. We figured it was for the best. The further away, the longer it would take to track us down… we hoped.

And it was pure torture.

We'd only just found each other, and we couldn't even be _near_ each other. I don't know if anybody gets the severity of that. We'd just lost all our other family. We had nobody. He didn't have Mom, or his friends, or whoever else that he knew in his life. I didn't have any of the Flock, none of the mini-Flock, and I couldn't even sit next to my new found brother. Maybe some of you hate your siblings, maybe for good reasons, I don't know because I'm not part of your fairly normal and non crazy lives. But how could I possibly hate the only family I had left? I had no _reason_ to hate him, no matter what laws there were about having to hate your relatives.

"We're alone." I stated. "We could have taken them down with Mom or Dad. But not alone." My voice threatened to crack, and I mentally chided myself for being so weak. That wasn't the way that I had been raised. I was a mutant, for God's sake, not a _child_.

"Are we really alone?" He asked, quietly.

I gave him my infamous Minnie look, which, in case you were wondering, includes raising of my eyebrows, eyes gone wide, and an incredulous look on my face. There you have it, folks. It's patented. No stealing. "Are you _seeing_ people, Avery? 'Cause that's not good." Seriously, this wasn't the time for the idiot to be joking.

… okay, so maybe we weren't going to be nice to each other all the time. But heck, I was trying. Give us some credit.

"No, you idiot." He didn't move a muscle, but a rock – small, but still a rock – hit the wall near my head. Near wasn't a word to describe how close it was to my head, actually. Yes, I get the brother with telekinesis.

"Hey! I need those brain cells, thanks."

"I missed."

I picked up a small rock near me – I couldn't, unfortunately, move it without moving my hands, like he could – rolled it in my hand, and hit my brother square in the shoulder with it. "Well, I didn't."

"I meant –" He rubbed his shoulder, an annoyed expression on his face. "I meant that we're not really alone. That, well, we don't have to be alone."

Again, had he woken up on the crazy side this morning? What, we're we going to go out on the street – 'Hey, we're mutant bird kids, rescue our Mom and Dad?' Hello, zoo! "What in all – Oh." I said, suddenly getting it. "Oh!" Tony. Cassie. Nudge. Iggy. The Gasman. Angel. Total, if by some means it came down to that.

All of them. The Flock and the mini-Flock, coming together as a gigantic flock, rescuing our mother and father, taking down the school. Once and for all.

Damn, my brother was smart.


	17. No Longer Six

Author's Note: This chapter takes place directly after the other chapter in Angel's POV.

Just Like Mom

Angel's POV

"Angel!" Nudge's voice called, and I sat up dazedly on the floor. "Great. Just great. Max says to watch out for you, and what do you do? Fall out of a chair."

"Shut it, Nudge." I said, rubbing my hip. Ouch. Falling out of chairs? Yeah, it's not on my suggested activities list. "I'm not six." Tony and Cassie were still standing in the doorway, gawking like we'd all grown extra heads. This, being genetically mutated and all, was more possible than any of you might imagine. I climbed back onto the chair. Stupid hard floor. "By the way, Nudge, your children are thinking of following." Reading minds was really quite fun sometimes. Okay, so it was fun more often than it wasn't fun.

"Oh, no, you are _not_." Both of them got the guilty look.

"_Thanks_." Cassie said sarcastically.

I rolled my eyes and sighed. "Cassie, Max told you not to follow." I chided. "Tony, you're _not_ following either." The boy has Minnie on his mind.

"What exactly happened?" Nudge asked, sitting herself down at the counter… on the counter, rather. Leave it to Nudge to not use a chair.

Tony and Cassie launched into a loud, rather fast-paced, and vivid description of the date-gone-weird. Leave it to Cassie to find the one guy Max wanted to hide.

"What do we do?" Tony asked. There was a hint of desperation in his voice. He was afraid that none of them were going to come back.

"She didn't sound like she was planning on coming back." Cassie stated, saying the exact thing that her brother had been thinking only moments before.

I spun my plate on the table. "No. She didn't, because she wasn't. Look, if she came back, we'd all have to be on the run again. Nikki and Avery together are a tracking system for the School. Being runaways again isn't an option, Max knows that." My voice softened.

"But what are we going to do? We can't let them do that! We can't let only have of them come back!" Tony exclaimed.

"The first thing we're gonna do? The first thing you're gonna do is get punished for telling Minnie and Avery to do that." Tony's eyes went downcast when Nudge spoke. "No matter the results, you shouldn't have worried Fang or Max or _us_ like that." When Fang had took off so quickly like that, we hadn't known what to think. He'd called confirming that there was no danger moments later, thank the lord. "Fang'll probably e back any minute with Minnie."

"No! That's not fair! We could be runaways." Cassie argued.

"You have _no_ idea what you're talking about." I hissed.

"I don't care!" Cassie said. "Minnie's gonna be so upset!"

"She'll be alright. They'll have explained it." Nudge said, stroking Cassie's hair. "We don't have a choice, it's their decision. I want Max back too."

Cassie's head hung, and Tony looked like he would cry. Great. They'd come here on the intent on fixing things, and we'd squashed the idea for them. "Come on guys. We've got to be strong for them." I heard two thuds in the yard, one right after the other, almost overlapping. Speak of the devil…

I peered out the kitchen window; saw Minnie coming towards the door. She wiped tears from her eyes. Poor girl. She looked messed up, as if she'd been in a scuffle. Had she and Avery been fighting? There was a long gash along her cheek.

Nudge's voice was close by, next to my ear as she fought for space at the window. "This day is about to get a whole lot more interesting, Ange. Call Ig and your brother." I scrambled off to the phone to do so.

It wasn't Fang with Minnie.

It was Avery.


	18. Death Warmed Over

Author's Note:

Hello again! I only got one review for each of the last chapters – please guys, if you read, review! It makes my day and makes me want to update even faster. Even if you hated it, thought it was the worst story ever, review, because I want to hear why you thought that so I can figure out how to improve.

Anyway, this chapter takes place during the last chapter, it shows them flying to Nudge's house.

Minnie's POV

We took to the sky one after another, flying one hundred yyards apart. We couldn't even _fly_ together. My wings were tiring already, but I didn't care. We _had_ to go get Mom and Dad. I'd fly 1,000 miles if I had to.

We flew quickly. I didn't know how we'd broach the subject with Nudge, Angel, Gazzy, and Ig. We had to get them to allow Tony and Cassie to go too. We needed them.

_This sucks. After all those times Mom warned me about the School…_

I shot Avery a look. Those hadn't been my thoughts, and I knew Angel well enough to know what telepathy felt like.

_Oh, crud_.

_Can you hear me?_ It was my brother's voice, but it was in my head. And if that sentence doesn't sound strange, please read it again.

_Yeah. Yeah, I can. Can you hear me too? _This was way freaky.

He nodded.

_Freaky_. I thought. It wasn't like I had to try and push my thoughts at him – they just kind of went there, without my consent. That could get annoying, after awhile. But for now, it was useful. It led me to think that it would only be the two of us who could do this – a kind of twin to twin mind link.

_Cool_. I heard his thoughts again. _Kind of like compensation, since we can't be in earshot of each other_.

_Wonder how far it works?_

_Only one way to find out_.

Avery dropped 100 yards in the air, so now he wasn't only 100 yards away, but also 100 yards below me.

_Can you hear me now? _I thought asked.

_Sick. _

I grinned. _This could help_.

_No kidding_. He rose up in the air again, back to his original spot as we sped toward Nudge's. We were both fast, I realized. I'd herd tales of Mom's super speed. I'd gained the skill when I was merely seven.

_When I was six. Beat you_.

I mentally stuck out my tongue. Going around two hundred miles an hour, close to three hundred if we could catch a good air current, it didn't take us too long to get to Nudge's place.

In fact, I could see her place up ahead. I'd seen it from the sky quite a few times, but today, one word resonated in my head when I saw it: relief. We were safe there. We could get help there. We _would_ get help there. It would all be alright. To my horror, tears started to form in my eyes.

Her house was large, two stories. It was painted a white color, and it had plenty of windows to jump from. This isn't so bad when you've got wings. Ya know, 'cause you don't go splat. And it had a huge yard, where we'd always landed in, practiced flying in, etc. Angel and the Gasman's house was the one with all the fun stuff, it was a few houses down, I could see it from here too. It had a huge swimming pool – saltwater instead of chlorine. That meant she could breathe underwater, which was pretty damn cool. She was practically made for both the land, the sea, and the air. The ultimate evolutionary girl.

My feet touched the ground in Nudge's yard a second before Avery's. We had to move fast now, since we were in a contained space. He stayed behind as I moved towards the house, giving us space between. The more space, the better. The more space, the longer we would stay _alive_.

I started towards the house, probably looking like death warmed over.


End file.
